KABUL: More than 30 rockets were fired on Kabul international airport in attacks reportedly lasting more than six hours on Wednesday. The bombardment took place just hours after US Defense Secretary James Mattis and NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit.
One resident was killed and 11 others were wounded, the Interior Ministry said. One salvo, according to police sources, included at least 12 rockets originating from two locations — to the east and northeast of the airport. It was the first major attack on the airport for many years. All flights were canceled.
The Taliban claimed responsibility and said Mattis was the target of the attack. Daesh also claimed responsibility. Both Mattis and Stoltenberg had already left the airport before the attack, Najib Danish, spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, told CNN.
The defense secretary was visiting Kabul for talks with President Ahsraf Ghani, their first such meeting since US President Donald Trump announced his new strategy for Afghanistan in late August that included increased action against the Taliban who have gained ground in various parts of the country in recent months.
Both Mattis and Stoltenberg appeared at a press conference with Ghani, who described the rocket strike as a sign of the Taliban’s “weakness, not strength.”
“I want to reiterate to the Taliban that the only path to peace and political legitimacy for them is through a negotiated settlement,” Mattis said at the press conference.
Afghan officials said that Mattis and Stoltenberg spoke with Ghani about plans to strengthen Afghanistan’s military.
Trump has urged NATO allies to step up contributions of both troops and funding to the Afghanistan mission. Stoltenberg said the credibility of the international alliance depended on maintaining its support, adding that the coalition realized the importance of staying in Afghanistan.
Mattis also urged Pakistan to join the US in its new strategy for South Asia in the campaign against terrorism, describing it as a “good opportunity” for Islamabad.
Ghani also said: “It is a golden opportunity for (Pakistan),” adding that, if the peace process with the Taliban bears fruit, it will be a major boost for the fight against terrorism.
Stoltenberg urged the Taliban to join the peace process, saying they “cannot win on the battlefield.”
He added that NATO is aware of the cost of staying in Afghanistan, but explained, “The cost of leaving would be higher. If NATO forces leave too soon, there is a risk Afghanistan may return to a state of chaos and once again become a safe haven for international terrorism.”
Najib Mahmoud, a professor at Kabul University’s Law and Political Science faculty, believes it was a coincidence that the attack coincided with Mattis’ visit, and that the Taliban claimed he was the target to make it appear as though they had prior knowledge of his officially unannounced arrival.
“The Taliban and their supporters want to pass on two messages with the attack; their opposition to (Trump’s) strategy and to show the weakness of Afghanistan’s intelligence for not being able to discover and foil the attack in advance,” Mahmoud said.
He pointed out that Mattis’ Kabul trip followed his visit to India, during which “he urged Indian authorities to get more engaged in Afghanistan.” The arrival of Mattis and the NATO secretary general in the country would deliver “a serious message to the militants and the region,” said Mahmoud said.
Taliban claim responsibility for Kabul airport attack during Mattis visit
Taliban claim responsibility for Kabul airport attack during Mattis visit
India minister pledges to evict ‘illegal’ immigrants from capital
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s closest political ally has pledged to rid the capital of “illegal’ immigrants if his party wins looming elections, in a forceful appeal to his party’s Hindu constituency.
Interior minister Amit Shah said every unlawful migrant from neighboring Bangladesh would be expelled from New Delhi “within two years” if his party succeeded in next month’s provincial polls.
“The current state government is giving space to illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas,” Shah told an audience of several thousand at Sunday’s rally.
“Change the government and we will rid Delhi of all illegals.”
India shares a porous border stretching thousands of kilometers with Muslim-majority Bangladesh, and illegal migration from its eastern neighbor has been a hot-button political issue for decades.
There are no reliable estimates of the number of Bangladeshis living illegally in Delhi, a city to which millions have flocked in search of employment from elsewhere in India over recent decades.
Critics of Modi and Shah’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accuse the party of using the issue as a dog whistle against Muslims to galvanize its Hindu-nationalist support base during elections.
Delhi, a sprawling megacity home to more than 30 million people, has been governed for most of the past decade by charismatic chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Kejriwal rode to power as an anti-corruption crusader a decade ago and his profile has bestowed upon him the mantle of one of the chief rivals to Modi and Shah’s party.
His popularity has been burnished by extensive water and electricity subsidies for the capital’s millions of poorer residents.
But he spent several months behind bars last year on accusations his party took kickbacks in exchange for liquor licenses, along with several fellow party leaders.
Kejriwal denies wrongdoing and characterised the charges as a political witch-hunt by Modi’s government, and despite resigning as chief minister last year vowed to return to the office if his party won re-election.
The BJP has led a spirited campaign in its efforts to dislodge Kejriwal’s party ahead of the February 5 vote.
Modi is expected to make a pilgrimage to the ongoing Kumbh Mela, the biggest festival on the Hindu calendar, to bathe in the sacred Ganges river on the day of the Delhi assembly vote.
Results of the election will be published on February 8.
Ukraine’s Zelensky urges action against ‘evil’ on Auschwitz anniversary
- The Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022
- Zelensky warned that the memory of the Holocaust is growing weaker
KYIV : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said the world must unite against evil, in comments marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death.
The Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 claiming that the government in Kyiv contained neo-Nazi elements and saying the country must be demilitarized.
Zelensky warned that the memory of the Holocaust is growing weaker and said some countries are still trying to destroy entire nations.
“We must overcome the hatred that gives rise to abuse and murder. We must prevent forgetfulness,” he said, according to a statement from the presidency.
“And it is everyone’s mission to do everything possible to prevent evil from winning,” he added.
The foreign ministry said in a statement that Russia’s invasion “brought back to Ukrainian soil horrors that Europe has not seen since World War II.”
“Jewish communities of Ukraine are also suffering from constant Russian terror, in particular in the cities of Dnipro and Odesa, which have a population of over a million, and other localities,” it added.
The Holocaust decimated the Jewish community in Ukraine, which during World War II was part of the Soviet Union.
It was not the first massacre of Jewish people in Ukraine’s history, which had seen previous anti-Semitic pogroms.
Russia drone barrage sparks fire in western Ukraine
KYIV: A barrage of more than 100 Russian drones sparked a fire at an industrial facility in western Ukraine and damaged residential buildings in other regions, Ukrainian officials said Monday.
The Ukrainian airforce said Moscow had dispatched 104 drones, including attack drones, and that 57 of the unmanned aerial vehicles had been shot down.
Emergency services in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region said the strikes had resulted in two fires at an industrial facility, and that firefighters were working to extinguish one.
They did not specify the type of facility hit but said there were no casualties.
The airforce said there was damage in four Ukrainian regions including Kyiv, where AFP journalists heard drones flying overhead and air defense systems countering the attack.
’Deaths’ during mass prison break in DR Congo’s Goma: security source
The prison, which holds around 3,000 inmates, was “totally torched” following a huge jailbreak that resulted in “deaths,” the security source said, without giving further details.
Fleeing prisoners could be seen in the surrounding streets, according to an AFP journalist.
Bird feathers and bloodstains found in Jeju jet engines: South Korea report
- The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Thailand to Muan in South Korea on Dec. 29 when it crash landed
- It was the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil, killing 179 of the 181 passengers and crew
SEOUL: Bird feathers and bloodstains were found in both engines of the Jeju Air plane that crashed in December, according to a preliminary investigation released Monday.
The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Thailand to Muan in South Korea on December 29 when it crash landed and exploded into a fireball after slamming into a concrete barrier.
It was the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil, killing 179 of the 181 passengers and crew.
South Korean and American investigators are still probing the cause of the disaster, with a bird strike, faulty landing gear and the runway barrier among the possible issues.
Both engines recovered from the crash site were inspected, and bird bloodstains and feathers were “found on each,” the report said.
“The pilots identified a group of birds while approaching runway 01, and a security camera filmed HL8088 coming close to a group of birds during a go-around,” the report added, referring to the Jeju jet’s registration number.
It did not specify whether the engines had stopped working in the moments leading up to the crash.
DNA analysis identified the feathers and blood as coming from Baikal teals, migratory ducks which fly to Korea in winter from their breeding grounds in Siberia.
After the air traffic control tower cleared the jet to land, it advised the pilots to exercise caution against potential bird strikes at 8:58 am, the report said. Just a minute later, both the voice and data recording systems stopped functioning.
Seconds after the recording systems failed, the pilots declared mayday due to a bird strike and attempted a belly landing.
The Jeju plane exploded in flames when it collided with a concrete embankment during its landing, prompting questions about why that type barricade was in place at the end of the runway.
Last week, authorities said they would replace such concrete barriers at airports nationwide with “breakable structures.”
The captain had over 6,800 flight hours, while the first officer had 1,650 hours, according to the report. Both were killed in the crash, which was survived only by two flight attendants.